One thing’s for sure, the world of Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSF) is becoming more and more popular with every passing year. We are seeing an increase in the number of members joining the SMSF community every single day, hoping to gain more control over how their personal funds are invested. Whether you’re considering a SMSF as a new investment strategy in building your retirement funds, or you’ve already taken the plunge and have one in place – there are a few key tips to keep in mind to ensure you’re starting and managing your SMSF the right way. After all, while the key purpose behind putting a SMSF in place is to gain more control over where your money is going. If you don’t have the best mechanisms in place to manage and distribute funds, your dream retirement goals may not eventuate. In the words of Earl Nightingale, “All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination”. Nexis is here to be that guiding roadmap, to refer you to the right professionals and get you on the road to an ideal and healthy SMSF destination.
Find a financial advisor you can trust
Before putting your SMSF in place, we always recommend that you speak to a qualified, licensed financial advisor to help you decide if an SMSF if right for you. If you need a trustworthy referral in this instance, the team at Nexis has your back. Over our time operating in the industry, we have built an extremely reliable network of trusted professionals that we even use ourselves across a range of professional financial services.
By the same token, once you’ve found an advisor, make sure you don’t slip into the trap of investing in products or organisations that they may work for, or receive commission or income from. By law, if an advisor has a financial stake in a potential investment recommendation, they must disclose this as there is a conflict of interest present on their part. If they do recommend an investment of this nature and legally disclose their ties, ask yourself, “if I invest in this product or business, is it going to benefit me or my financial advisor more?”. In short, make sure you can find an advisor who you can invest your trust in, without unwittingly investing money into their personal bank account.
Understand why and what you’re investing in
It seems that recent years have been at the pinnacle of accepting diversity within the community. No matter what you’re into, “diversity” should be a key, front-of-mind term for you now and into the future, when it comes to which assets you choose to invest in. There’s nothing stock standard about the way the stock market and property market works; sometimes, they go up and at other times they will fall. The best way to protect yourself from unforeseen investment falls or relevant income loss is to simply follow the age-old principle of, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”.
As an additional and extremely important tip, if you don’t understand what you’re investing in – don’t!
Make sure you can sell on
Although investing in property may seem like an exciting and new move, it may be a hard investment to sell on in a hurry, if that is your eventual end goal. Make sure you get the right advice and do your research on what the best approach is for you, before committing to anything that may simply look or sound good on the surface.
Have the support to keep you on track
While specific financial advice is not our area of expertise, as mentioned, we can put you in contact with the right people to ensure you stay on the best possible track with your SMSF. We act as administrative support to you and your chosen advisor. The team at Nexis offer a range of expertise and guidance when it comes to professionally managing relevant administrative services, superannuation, preparing relevant lodgments of financial documents, as well as providing ongoing advice on SMSF compliance matters.
